


The annoying neighbor

by liefde



Category: Football RPF
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 11:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15795597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liefde/pseuds/liefde
Summary: At first, Thomas is glad when someone new moves in next to him. After one month? Not so much.-5+1Five times Manuel is an annoying neighbor and one time he's not.





	The annoying neighbor

Thomas has always been a rather noisy person, up to date with all the gossip in his neighborhood and probably talking loudly to one of his acquaintances in the street whenever you'd see him.

And that's why he's practically hanging out of his window on a particular boring Monday morning, looking at a moving van that has just pulled up in front of the house next to him. The previous owners had decided to leave to a bigger house because they'd expected a second child, and the house had been empty ever since they'd left a couple of months ago.

But now there is a tall man moving boxes and furniture into the house, together with another man. Finally some action in the neighborhood.

He hasn't seen the tall man's face properly, but he has broad shoulders, nice legs, and – let's be blunt – a great ass. Not bad, Thomas thinks and grins. He must look like a big creep. Oh well, as long as his new neighbor doesn't see him.

Thomas isn't the kind of person to bake cookies and introduce new inhabitants to the whole neighborhood (who is he even kidding, he totally is that person), but the tall man seems sort of intimidating so he decides not to.

He'll meet him sooner or later anyway.

 

-

 

1.

 

"God damn! It's the tenth time his stupid cat has stolen Murmel’s food!”, Thomas curses out loud. And that's not even the worst thing, because his neighbor's cat has scared his dog to death and now Murmel almost doesn't go outside anymore.

Enough is enough, Thomas thinks when he walks towards his neighbor's door with his arms crossed on his chest, like a little child that doesn't get what it wants. He'd never had a problem with his new neighbor until a month ago, and he'd thought it would always be like that. Well, the stupid cat decided to shake things up, change that and also manage to annoy the hell out of him.

He rings his neighbor's doorbell twice, then hears footsteps and mentally prepares himself for everything he's going to say. His neighbor needs to keep his stupid cat inside, or at least give him enough food (Thomas is quite sure it's a male cat, it's way too big to be a female).

Everything he wants to say is erased from his brain when he sees his neighbor properly for the first time.

"Hello?", the tall gorgeous being asks and Thomas might actually swoon. His voice, his shoulders, his face!

"Uhm –", he manages to get out and then his neighbor does this smiling thing and he's just flabbergasted.

"Aren't you the neighbor with the dog?"

"Yeah", Thomas replies and smiles. And then he remembers he's come to his neighbor's door to complain about his cat. Yeah. He totally did not forget that.

"Can you try to keep your dog on your own lawn? I think I've walked in at least five poop piles since I came here. And those aren't from my cat."

Thomas thinks he might actually burst from annoyance. His neighbor may be the most handsome being he's ever seen on earth, but that doesn't take away that he is very irritating.

"Well, look who's taking? Your stupid cat steals my dog's food, so maybe you should try to feed your poor pet a bit more!", he says and quickly turns around and storms into his house.

What an ignorant idiot! And he didn't even catch his name. Oh well.

 

-

 

2.

 

Thomas is watching television on a quiet Friday night after work, when he suddenly hears a loud crash.

Must be one of the neighbors on the other side of the street, with their dumb basketballs. He rolls his eyes and shoves a curtain out of his way, so he can look outside and see who decided to disturb his moment of rest.

It isn't one of the neighbors from across the street. It's his very own neighbor from next door. The annoying cat owner!

And said annoying neighbor has apparently gotten his drivers license for free, because he'd just crashed into Thomas' mailbox.

He runs outside and angrily knocks on his neighbor's car window and then looks at the mailbox. Or well, what is left of the mailbox.

"You are such an–", Thomas starts and then his neighbor steps out of his car.

"I am so sorry, Thomas! I will pay everything back! I just need to see if my car hasn't sort of completely broken down.”

Thomas fumes and then becomes less angry when he sees his neighbor's face, worry and guilt clearly visible on it.

It's silent for a few seconds until Thomas thinks about what his neighbor has said. "Hey, how do you know my name? I don't believe I've ever told you?", he asks and the other man blushes.

"I might have gotten a wrong letter in my mailbox once", he admits and looks at the ground. "My name is Manuel, by the way. Or you can just call me Manu. I don't care", he blabbers and Thomas squints his eyes.

"Hmmm. Kind of ironic, isn't it, Manu? Wanted to steal another letter of mine?"

 

-

 

3.

 

Thomas has to admit that he's growing a bit fond of Manuel. It doesn't help that the taller man is stupidly handsome and has this lanky thing that he likes.

Until Manuel's stupid cat is sitting on his couch on a Wednesday evening after work.

"Ksssst! Ksssst!”, he says loudly and tries to shoo the traitor away. The cat doesn't even bat an eyelid at it, and it makes Thomas annoyed as hell.

"Murmel! Murmel! Where are you, my poor baby?", Thomas asks loud enough so his dog can hear it. The stupid cat has probably scared his dog forever.

He's panicking and wants to pick up the cat, when he hears loud barking and sort of lets Manuel's cat fall on the ground.

"Murmel!", Thomas yells happily and his dog barks playfully and runs around him. And just at the moment that Thomas wants to pat Murmel's head, the dog passes him and runs behind the couch as quickly as he can.

Strange, Thomas thinks and takes a look behind the couch. He knows what to expect when he hears Murmel bark and a soft meowing. That stupid cat is still in his house!

His expression softens when he sees Murmel's tail swinging happily and Manu's cat purring loudly.

Even his dog is warming up to his neighbor.

 

-

 

4.

 

It's a Sunday morning, Thomas went out with Mats and Lewy the night before and is now in bed with a huge hangover. He was sleeping five minutes ago, but got woken up by some noise from hell.

He doesn't know where the music comes from, the only thing he knows is that he will kill the person that put it on as soon as possible.

His head feels as if it's split into half when he tries to stand up, his legs feel like they're going to fail on him and he can't block that godforsaken noise from his head. He doesn’t know why he deserves this.

"Stop it", he says more to himself than to someone else, unless he's talking to his dog that is sleeping downstairs. Or was sleeping, before that noise was turned on.

Thomas puts on a pair of jeans and a hoodie, makes sure his breath doesn't stink and his appearance isn't awful – hey, it's Manuel after all! And then he storms outside, knocking on Manu's door but then quickly realizing that his attempt is ridiculous. Loud music and all.

So he does the only sensible thing and climbs over Manuel's fence (it isn't too high, he's not crazy). He doesn't expect what he's going to see on the other side of it though.

Manuel is working out and wearing a pair of shorts that are like really short, and that's it. He isn't wearing a T-shirt, so everything Thomas sees is muscles and his ass and holy shit. What is he even doing here? He's going to frighten Manuel, and how is going to explain how he got into his garden?

The tall man is still looking at the part of the garden Thomas isn't standing in and Thomas is very grateful for that. Because it means he can escape before everything goes down.

He quickly climbs over the fence again and makes sure he hasn't accidentally broken something so Manuel could know that he was here. He'd have to dig a hole in the ground and never come out of it if that would happen.

He'll have to put up with the music for a little while more then. And he curses himself for not having a window that looks out on Manu's garden. The things he could've seen already, damn it.

 

-

 

5.

 

The last time Manuel manages to disturb one of Thomas' peaceful moments of quiet is around three on a Saturday night.

Thomas was sleeping a few minutes ago when suddenly the doorbell rang and Murmel started barking rather loudly.

The first thought that flashes through Thomas' mind is that a burglar must be trying to enter his house. But then his sleepy mind makes the conclusion that burglars don't ring the doorbell, unless they're really stupid or drunk.

He doesn't want to open the door, it could be anyone. It could be a killer. Someone bad that wants to disturb his much-needed sleep. He rolls around and puts the blanket over his ears, as if that would stop the noise.

And then the yelling begins. 'Thomas! It's me. Well, I mean me as in Manuel! You know, your neighbor. You know me right? Well, I'm a bit drunk and I sort of had a very bad date and then lost my key. I don't know why or how but can you please help me find my key?"

Thomas lies perfectly still and sighs.

"Thomas? Please help me", Manuel says from outside, and it looks as if he's standing right under his window. This could be sort of romantic, Thomas thinks. If Manuel would've come a bit earlier, wouldn't have rung the doorbell about a thousand times and wouldn’t have been drunk.

He finally gives in when Manuel starts his pleas again and goes downstairs, almost falling off the stairs, then over Murmel and then he curses about twenty times when he doesn’t find his keys and then finally comes up with the marvelous idea to put the light on. He takes Murmel back to sleep and then opens the door.

“Thomas!”, Manuel yells like a child that gets free candy and gives Thomas a hug. “Thank you so much for saving me. I almost died because of the cold.”

This feels rather nice, Thomas thinks. He feels small and protected in Manu’s big arms. But there isn’t much time to think about that when Manuel stumbles inside, into the living room and straight on Thomas’ couch. Lovely, really.

“Hey, Manu”, Thomas says when the other man’s face is planted into one of his cushions. The cushion that goddamn cat always sits on whenever it sneaks in. Which reminds him of the fact that Murmel hasn’t woken up again, and Thomas is grateful for that. He can’t deal with a tall drunk man and a dog barking at the same time.

Manuel doesn't say anything and Thomas decides that this is the perfect moment to get some water, so Manuel doesn’t wake up with a massive headache tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow morning. When Manuel will still be here because he can’t search his house keys in the dark while being drunk. Shit. How is he going to act normal and not like a person who has the biggest crush ever on his neighbor when he actually has to interact with him during the morning? Thomas still doesn’t understand himself, he’s usually the most outgoing and talkative person ever, but Manuel just makes him say crap and blush.

He hands the water to Manuel who now has managed to sit up straight and gratefully accepts it.

“This isn’t vodka isn’t it?”, he jokes and Thomas rolls his eyes fondly.

“No, you fool. I’m not keen on making you even drunker than you already are.”

Manuel smiles at that and slowly sips from his water, and he does it without taking his eyes off Thomas.

“You’re staring, Manu.”

“I know”, he replies. Thomas blushes and looks the other way.

"So, a bad date it was then?", Thomas asks and Manuel's face drops. I'm so stupid, Thomas thinks. He's made things awkward. Not that practically barging drunkenly into someone's house in the middle of the night isn't awkward, but still.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter. He wasn't my type. Didn't like football."

Thomas' heart starts beating faster because Manuel clearly said 'he' and that he's into football. Now he's definitely swooning.

“Have I ever told you that you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen?”, Manuel suddenly asks after a moment of silence and Thomas’ eyes grow big and he coughs.

“You’re just saying this because you’re drunk Manu. You won't even know you’ve said this when you’ll wake up tomorrow morning”, Thomas says and sighs.

“Can you sit next to me?”, Manuel asks and Thomas shrugs. He takes place on the couch next to Manu and they fit so perfectly together on it that it feels like it’s made just for them.

Manuel puts an arm around him and strokes Thomas’ hair. He presses his lips to Thomas’ ear and whispers softly: “I know I won’t forget this in the morning. I may be a bit drunk, but I know I won’t because you are the most handsome man I’ve ever seen, and I’ve known that since the moment that I first met you.”

Thomas turns around slowly and looks at those blue eyes, those beautiful eyes he’s always admired from afar, never the thought of being liked back crossing his mind.

“And, wow, I don’t even know if you’re gay or bisexual or whatever but I just-”, Manuel starts to ramble, but Thomas quickly shuts him up with a kiss.

And then they both start laughing, Manuel a bit louder and Thomas hugs him forcefully and then whispers in his ear: “You better remember this in the morning, Manu.”

Manuel smiles and whispers back: “I think I’ve already sobered up a little, don’t worry.”

 

-

 

+1

 

Thomas doesn’t see Manuel a lot the next week, because his neighbor has some work things to do. But he does have his number, and they text a lot. He even went inside Manuel’s house to feed his cat, whose name is actually Traitor. It fits him a lot. Manuel still has to tell him the story of how the cat got that name though.

And now Manuel is coming back from his trip, and he said to Thomas that he’d come over to check on his cat who is now constantly in his house. Thomas is almost certain he knows why.

“Traitor sneaked in again”, Thomas says immediately when he opens the door and Manuel starts laughing.

“Seriously?”, he asks with a fond smile on his face and Thomas nods.

He doesn’t know if he should kiss Manuel, maybe on the cheek, or maybe not at all. He doesn’t know what they are after all, and he doesn’t want to assume anything or fuck things up before there were even things.

And then Manuel casually gives him a peck on his lips and Thomas wants to scream “yes! yes! yes!” about a hundred times.

“I didn’t just interpret everything wrong did I?”, Manuel asks with squinted eyes, as if he doesn’t want to see Thomas’ reaction to the kiss and Thomas stands on his tiptoes to smack Manu’s head playfully.

“Of course not. I’ve practically had a crush on you ever since I saw you moving in”, Thomas says and Manuel raises his eyebrows. “Really? Is me lifting heavy things with my brother such an attractive thing?”, he asks and Thomas nods. "Definitely. Very attractive. You should've heard all those rumors going around the neighborhood. Something as exciting as that hadn't happened in years."

And then they both feel something fluffy and soft moving around their legs. Thomas knows immediately what it is when he sees his dog coming around the corner, barking loudly.

“Traitor!”, Manuel says happily and picks the big cat up, “how are you, my big man?”

The cat purrs the whole time and meows to make clear that he wants to be put back down. Traitor then sort of snuggles up to Murmel and starts purring loudly, while the dog barks happily. Thomas and Manuel both frown and then look at each other.

“I think our pets have a thing for each other”, Manuel says with a grin and Thomas laughs.

“I knew it! This is why your cat is always here!”

“And why your dog is always in my garden!”

They both laugh and Thomas puts an arm around Manuel’s waist. “Maybe we should arrange a date for them?”

Manuel tilts his head a bit and asks: “Is this your subtle way of asking me out?”

“Maybe?”, Thomas admits with a smile and laughs.

“I love it”, Manuel says and kisses Thomas.

This new neighbor isn’t too bad after all, Thomas thinks later that evening when they’re all snuggled up on the couch and watching football. Murmel and Traitor sit together on the smaller couch, and Thomas and Manuel are cuddling on their loveseat. Not bad at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, my first Neuller standalone fic :D I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Find me / request things on my [tumblr](https://sunnygotze.tumblr.com/ask)


End file.
